Reading Right

Ever since I learned to read at four years old I have loved to spend my time lost in a book. As a child I struggled with social anxiety, and reading was my escape. There were many times during family functions I would be tucked away in a corner, lost in the pages of a Nancy Drew novel or some other story. To this day, there are very few books that I will not read.

As I got older, I managed to get the social anxiety under control, but I retained my bibliophilic ways. I started a "bookstagram" to talk about books that I love, and I've amassed a collection of over 400 books from a variety of genres. However, I found myself getting more picky about the books that I would read. I started to really reflect on what types of books I enjoyed, particularly in the fictional realm. Here are some general ideas that I compared books against when I defined them as "great."

1. At the end of the story, evil did not prevail.

Maybe the ending was not necessarily "happy," but good still prevailed in some way. Maybe this was someone acknowledging the horrors that occurred and reminding the reader that this was not normal, as in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Perhaps there were sad moments and brave sacrifices that broke my heart, but served the greater good, as in books like Scythe by Neal Schusterman. There does not have to be a perfect "happily ever after" for a book to be good, but a good book will never end with the evil. It will end with some hope, however slight it may be. It will give, at very least, the possibility of a brighter future.

2. As the story progresses, the characters grow.

In a truly great work of fiction, the characters will not leave the conflict the same way that they entered in. If the character did not grow or change in some way, then no real conflict occurred. Sometimes this is physical, but more often than not, it is a strengthening of the mind. Some of the best examples of character development include The Prison Healer trilogy by Lynette Noni and The Ravenwood Saga by Morgan Busse.

3. There is something unexpected.

I have some ADHD tendencies, one of which is the ability to recognize patterns very easily. Unfortunately, this means that most plots can be rather predictable. If an author manages to surprise me, the book almost automatically gets five stars (almost). One of the best examples of this would be The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni. It is the first in the series, and the whole book literally blows your mind when you read the last sentence. The literal last sentence. I never saw it coming, and I loved every second of it. Brandon Sanderson has also mastered this art, and I was pleasantly surprised with Tress of the Emerald Sea (although I admit that I figured most of that one out a bit before the last sentence).

4. The cover art....

Okay, so this one is negotiable. I have read some excellent books that have some of the worst cover art on the planet. However, something about the cover art makes a book either blend seamlessly into your library or stand out like a neon swimsuit. If a book is great on the inside, I love having covers on the outside that match. One of my current favorites is The Blood Vier by Christy Harrill. Some of the most beautiful cover art I've seen!

While I may still like a book that doesn't have all of these qualities, the difference is that these qualities expand my emotions from "like" to "LOVE." Maybe these are too broad for some readers and too restrictive for others, but if a book meets all four of these, it's almost certain to get a five-star rating from me.

Most of the books I've listed here are YA Fantasy and Sci-fi, but I read just about every genre (except romance), so I am always ready with recommendations, and I'm always adding books to my TBR. What are you reading this summer? Need some help finding something to catch your interest? Leave a comment below and we'll help each other find the best books for our summer reading lists. :)